160 of the
1,949 complaints filed about the Volkswagen GTI
are about the braking system —
8% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2009.
The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen GTI. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated, and the ABS control unit indicator light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a communication loss; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V913000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Electronic Stability Control (ESC). The failure mileage was 132,000.
NHTSA complaint #11732775 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Automatic Hill assist uses excessive brake force and for too long of a duration. This causes the vehicle to stall. Road inclination activation point of Hill assist is too sensitive. Brakes hold when it shouldn't. This is a factory default setting. Vehicle has stalled several times in traffic. This could potentially be a hazard of it happens in an emergency your situation when you need to move quickly and the vehicle stalls. Volkswagen should update the software controls to either be able to disable the feature or make the release point dependant on the clutch activation instead of a period of time after the brake pedal is released.
NHTSA complaint #11696286 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
At random times, sometimes at first start, sometimes after its parked and started again, vehicle alerts to below errors: Travel Assist is currently not available Park Distance Control Rear Traffic Alert is currently not available VW has replaced one steering wheel and did some software adjustments but errors are back. Its more noticeable in colder weather
NHTSA complaint #11695189 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Manual transmission car. Hill hold brake assist feature is dangerous and can be fixed with software update. This is truly dangerous. When stopped on an incline, the brakes automatically engage when stopped and hold the car from rolling backwards which might occur if the driver did not know how to drive a manual transmission car. When driver takes foot off of brake pedal, the brake fails to release !! It hold for 2-3 additional seconds before it will allow the car to move, causing car to stall when engaging the clutch into gear. 50 years experience driving manual transmission cars - this defect is diabolical and patently unsafe. My last VW had a hill hold feature which released in concert with engaging clutch, so no stalls. This is fixable with software update! Please force VW to fix their dangerously defective car. This occurs ALL OF THE TIME and is not an isolated incident to my car - it is a design defect wreaking havoc with all GTI manual transmission owners of the Mark VIII iteration. It is only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.
NHTSA complaint #11669875 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The automatic “hill assist” is dangerous in that it makes it easy to stall your car when trying to use your manual transmission. It’s unintuitive and truly frustrating and can cause you to stall your car when you are pulling into traffic. The previous implementation of this on the Mk7 VW GTI’s worked well but VW made this way too intrusive and complicated - and dangerous - on the Mk8 VW GTI’s. There is no option to disabled it or change the behavior.
NHTSA complaint #11658759 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
During moderate braking, the ABS system was violently pulsing the brakes on the left front wheel. This occured on about one dozen braking events over a 5-7 mile distance. Afterwards upon inspection, the left front brake smelled and radiated intense amounts of heat. There were no Warning Lights displayed at any time during or after. The tires, original equipment size, are almost brand new. All tires were at recommended air pressure. A Volkswagen dealer will inspect the vehicle today. The ABS hydraulic assembly is suspect. The vehicle has 46,000 miles and has had its brake fluid replaced in the past as part of normal recommended service.
NHTSA complaint #11652252 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The 8th generation of the VW Golf (and 7th generation Jetta) has a dangerous Hill Start Assist for manual transmission cars that cannot be disabled. When stopped on an incline, the car holds the brakes after the driver removes their foot from the pedal for a variable amount of time (upwards of 2 seconds), which was originally designed to help start on steep inclines. This is dangerous for a number of reasons. The first is that it's impossible to gauge when the car will release the brakes, so it will always roll backwards. The reaction of the driver to rolling backwards, instead of timing the movement from brakes to accelerator is much more difficult and often causes more delays due to stalling. The second is that the driver has no visibility to a sensor or light for this mechanism, making it very unpredictable. Lastly, drivers behind the vehicle see the brake lights go off when the driver lifts their foot, but the car is unable to move for multiple seconds, which causes more risk of injury, accident, and overall traffic.
NHTSA complaint #11649028 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The hill assist feature causes the vehicle to stall due to long hold times. It's caused me to back up traffic numerous times and has almost caused people behind me to rear end me
NHTSA complaint #11641871 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Roll back feature on manual car. Causes disruptive driving by Engaging and holding too long causing stallouts and potential collisions. Also rearbackup camera only works <80% of time.
NHTSA complaint #11632881 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I am experiencing the same problem reported in NHTSA ID Number: 11587076. I am writing to let you know that this problem is not limited to the Golf R model but also affects the Golf GTI models with manual transmission. The description of the problem in report 11587076 matches my experience exactly so I will not repeat it here. An additional problem possibly related to this one is that there is no brake boost when the engine is not running. With all other cars I have owned, there has been some residual boost from the brake servo that is available to stop the car from rolling between the time when the clutch pedal is depressed and when the engine is started. In the same situation with this car, extreme pressure on the brake pedal or application of the parking brake is needed to stop the rolling. In my opinion, this constitutes a safety hazard.
NHTSA complaint #11632533 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The hill hold assist on the MK8 VW GTI is overly aggressive, creating safety concerns. When starting on a hill, there is a 2-3 second delay where the car strongly holds the brakes, even after the brake light disengages. This could lead to rear-end collisions as following drivers might assume the car is moving. Additionally, in emergency situations, this delay prevents immediate forward movement, increasing risk. For manual transmission models, it also raises the likelihood of stalling, which can further compromise safety. This feature should be less aggressive, should not engage the brakes without the brake lights illuminated, and there should be an option to disable it entirely.
NHTSA complaint #11629010 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
This is in regard the hill hold assist on the manual transmission vehicles. The hill hold assist holds the brake for 2-3 seconds after the brake has been released, causing a delay in movement which if trying to make a quick maneuver, could cause a delay in start which could cause an accident if the driver was not prepared for it. Personally, it caused me to stall the vehicle on a hill, stopping the flow of traffic for a further 3-5 seconds as I started the vehicle back up. This seems to be a common problem in 2022-2024 model manual GTI’s and Golf R’s reported on many VW and Reddit forums that nobody seems to have a solution for, and VW has not acknowledged or addressed the issue.
NHTSA complaint #11615444 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ABS Control Module short and failure occurred. Trouble codes generated include 01325 - Tire Pressure Monitoring Control Module No signal/communication and 01130 - ABS Operation Implausible signal static. Upon visiting an Authorized Volkswagen dealer service center was charged $200 for ABS diagnostic fee and told the ABS Control Module has failed and I will need to pay >$2900 to replace. ABS, ESP/ASR, airbag, and parking brake lights are now permanently active as a result and not certain these systems are functioning.
NHTSA complaint #11605256 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
under emergency braking at around 70mph all 4 wheels locked up and abs/traction lights illuminated on dash. Caused a minor accident and flat spot on all 4 tires. ABS did not work. This is a know recall for 2009 models of the same vehicle. I replicated the issue a second time at a slower speed on a secluded road with the same results. There are numerous complaints about the same situation on this and other model VW cars of this year all over the internet forums. The ABS module was diagnosed as defective by mechanic shop.
NHTSA complaint #11575395 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen GTI. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH, the ABS warning light, traction control warning light, and the brake warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V913000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Electronic Stability Control). Upon reprogramming the ABS module, the dealer informed the contact the ABS module failed the diagnostic test and needed to be replaced; however, the dealer informed the contact that he had to pay for the repair even though the recall remedy stated that the ABS module replacement was free of charge. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000.
NHTSA complaint #11482449 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The emergency parking hand brake won't engage until after around an average of 5 attempts. The hand brake button and spring behind it is also loose and pops off. I'm unable to drive with it on, or else it can pop off and fall to the floor. This causes issues as now I'm unable to use the emergency hand brake in an event of an emergency, which is what the purpose of the emergency hand brake is for.
NHTSA complaint #11466384 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I recently purchased this used car and discovered that there is a recall on it. I made an appointment for the recall service. Prior to the appointment, the ABS warning light came on while driving the car. I took the car to University Volkswagen. They charged me for a diagnostic on the ABS system and have advised that the ABS module needs to be replaced and that I must have that done, before they can address the recall. I asked the service advisor if the issues with the ABS system were due to the recall issue, and he told me it was difficult to say. I escalated the issue, and they still tell me that I have to pay $3000 to replace the ABS module before they can do the recall work. It seems that if the ABS failure is due to the recall, that it should not be up to me to pay for the ABS module so that they can test the ABS module. Can you please help me with this situation, or advise me what steps to take next?
NHTSA complaint #11462527 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ABS MODULE HAS BEEN KNOWN TO BE DEFECTIVE ON THIS MODEL YEAR VOLKSWAGEN GTI. SOME VINS ARE NOT COVERED UNDER A RECALL EVEN THOUGH IT USES THE SAME ABS SYSTEM AND ABS MODULE THAT HAS BEEN KNOWN TO BE DEFECTIVE. ALL VINS THAT USE THIS ABS MODULE SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER THIS RECALL AS THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD.
NHTSA complaint #11388670 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I WAS DRIVING AT NORMAL HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND WHEN I WENT TO SLOW DOWN FOR A RED LIGHT MY BRAKES WERE NOT ENGAGING UNTIL MY PEDAL WAS PUSHED WELL OVER HALF WAY DOWN. THIS WAS A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE. I STARTED NOTICING THAT IF I PUMPED MY BRAKE PEDAL, THE BRAKES WOULD BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE, BUT THE VEHICLE REALLY WAS NOT SAFE. I TOOK THE CAR TO MY LOCAL TIRES PLUS REPAIR SHOP WHO BELIEVED THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER WAS BAD AND IT WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. ONCE THE REPAIR WAS COMPLETED I PICKED UP MY VEHICLE AND THE BRAKES STILL WERE NOT EFFECTIVELY ENGAGING. AT THAT POINT THE REAR BRAKE CALIPERS HAD GOTTEN REPLACED AND EVEN AFTER THAT, NOTHING HAD IMPROVED. TIRES PLUS DECIDED THE CAR NEEDED TO GO TO VOLKSWAGEN BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT FIGURE OUT THE ISSUE. I TOOK THE CAR TO MY LOCAL REPAIR SHOP WHO DIAGNOSED THE CAR AND INSISTED THERE WERE NO ISSUES WITH MY BRAKES AND THAT THE WAY MY BRAKE PEDAL FELT WAS NORMAL. I KNOW FOR A FACT THIS ISN'T TRUE AND THE SERVICE CENTER REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE MY CONCERNS. IN RESPONSE I WAS TOLD THAT I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW BRAKES ARE SUPPOSED TO WORK AND THAT MUCH DEAD PEDAL TRAVEL IS NORMAL. I PICKED MY CAR UP AND AFTER A WEEK MY BRAKES HAD GOTTEN WORSE AND THEY CONTINUE TO GET WORSE. THE BRAKE PEDAL IS STILL NOT ENGAGING MY BRAKES UNTIL OVER HALFWAY THROUGH THE PEDAL TRAVEL AND ONCE THE BRAKES DO ENGAGE THE PEDAL IS VERY STIFF. I AGAIN EXPRESSED MY CONCERNS TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THE SERVICE ADVISOR SIMPLY YELLED AT ME AND TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH MY CAR AND THAT I NEEDED TO JUST LISTEN TO THE EXPERTS. AND YET THEY HAVE NOT DRIVEN MY CAR BECAUSE THEY DENIED TO DO SO. I HAVE TAKEN MY CAR TO TWO OTHER REPAIR SHOPS WHO INSIST THERE IS AN ISSUE BUT COULD NOT PROPERLY DIAGNOSE THE ISSUE AND INSIST VOLKSWAGEN NEEDS TO DEEPLY LOOK INTO MY CARS BRAKING SYSTEM BUT VOLKSWAGEN WON'T DO FURTHER INVESTIGATING INTO THE BRAKES.
NHTSA complaint #11377947 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.